29/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - All policies are required to contribute to the objective of cohesion, which must be solely dependent on structural policies. Furthermore, cohesion should not be understood solely in terms of GDP. This is the result of the exploratory opinion adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) during its plenary session in January (see EUROPE 9344). In the opinion entitled “Impact and consequences of structural policies on EU cohesion”, elaborated by Belgian counsellor Mr Derruine (Workers Group), the Committee calls for: 1) a more representative indication of cohesion which should include in addition to GDP parameters such as employment and unemployment levels, the extent of social protection, the level of access to services of general interest, etc.; and 2) Lisbon Strategy national reform programmes, the Community programme of Lisbon, guidelines proposed by the Commission and impact analyses that better reflect the measures taken for enhancing cohesion, including in its territorial dimension. For details, as well as full results of the January EESC plenary session, see http://www.ees.europa.eu (gb)